Wellsburg couple endows WVU School of Dentistry scholarship

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – David G. Edwards, D.D.S., a 1973 graduate of the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, and his wife, Linda S. Edwards, of Wellsburg, W.Va., have endowed the Dr. David G. Edwards Dental Scholarship Fund to benefit students in the School’s Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) program.

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must:

• Be an above average student in class ranking and in need of financial assistance;
• Exhibit leadership skills and commitment to community service; and
• Be entering the fourth year of the D.D.S. program.

In addition, the scholarship will first be offered to a candidate meeting the criteria who is a West Virginia resident and intends to practice dentistry in West Virginia.

“We are so grateful to David and Linda for their generous support of our dental students,” Anthony “Tom” Borgia, D.D.S., M.H.A., interim dean of the WVU School of Dentistry, said. “Graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt is an enormous burden for our students, who, more often than not, are entering into their first year of practice. These scholarships are vital to lessening that load for recent graduates.”

Dr. Edwards received two degrees from WVU: a Master of Arts in Biology in 1969 and his D.D.S. in 1973. He has maintained a private dental practice in Wellsburg since 1973.  He served the School of Dentistry as a clinical assistant professor from 1996 to 2005, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Bob Wise to a five-year term on the West Virginia Board of Dental Examiners, followed by a second five-year appointment by then-Gov. Joe Manchin. He served the board as its president for three years. He is currently a member of the School of Dentistry’s Capital Campaign and Admissions committees.

In 2013, he was named one of the WVU School of Dentistry’s Distinguished Alumni and has also received the Pierre Fauchard Academy’s Outstanding Dentist Award.

He is a member and has served various offices of several professional organizations, including the American Dental Association, the West Virginia Dental Association, the Wheeling District Dental Society, the Academy of General Dentistry, the Academy of Operative Dentistry, the West Virginia Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators, and others. He serves as an active member of the Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners and the Southern Regional Testing Agency. He is a fellow of both the American and International College of Dentists.

He has been involved in many local community activities throughout the years, including the Wellsburg Lions Club, the United Way, the Hancock-Brooke-Ohio Victim Assistant Program, and the Wellsburg First Presbyterian Church.

“Establishing this scholarship partially fulfills our desire to give back to this great University, which prepared me so well for the profession I love and to help it remain a first class school for students entering a profession so vital to the citizens of West Virginia,” Edwards said.

For more information on supporting the WVU School of Dentistry, visit http://dentistry.hsc.wvu.edu/about/giving or contact Patty Showers Ryan, director of development, at 304-293-1868 or psryan@hsc.wvu.edu.

The gift was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $1 billion comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2017.